'Suits' and 'Yellowstone' Actor Neal McDonough Reveals Rule He Won't 'Kiss Another Woman Onscreen' in His Contracts

Yahoo

30-07-2025

The actor said that he was "blackballed" and "crucified" in the industry over his ruleNEED TO KNOW
Neal McDonough revealed that he has a rule about kissing women for roles, saying that he refuses to kiss anyone but his wife, Ruvé McDonough
The actor alleged that his rule led to him getting sued once, as well as "blackballed" and "crucified" in the industry
He revealed that the saving grace has been his wife, and that he was thrilled to get to kiss her onscreen in his movie, The Last RodeoNeal McDonough opened up about feeling "blackballed" and "crucified" in the industry over his stance on filming romantic scenes.
During a Wednesday, July 30, appearance on the Nothing Left Unsaid podcast, the 59-year-old actor — who fans will recognize from the likes of his 2025 film The Last Rodeo, Suits and Yellowstone — revealed that he has a rule that he will only kiss his wife of more than 20 years, Ruvé McDonough.
"I had always had in my contracts that I wouldn't kiss another woman onscreen," he said while on the podcast, clarifying that it was not his wife who proposed the rule. "It was me, really, who had a problem. I was like, 'Yeah, I don't want to put you through it. I know we're going to start having kids, and I don't want to put my kids through it.'"
Instead, the actor said that he decided to pursue a career as a frequent villain so that he was able to accept roles that didn't require romantic moments. Despite his plan, Neal said that the rule ultimately "got him blacklisted" and left Hollywood confused about what to do with him.
"A lot of people say, 'Well, you kill thousands of people in all of your movies, sometimes millions, and you won't kiss another woman onscreen?' I'm like, 'Yeah, but you're not really killing anybody,'" he said. "And it's kind of funny on the day when we're doing it. But intimacy is a whole different thing for me."
Elsewhere in the interview, Neal recalled a time when he faced pressure on set to film a "simulated sex scene" for the pilot of a TV show. After he refused and quit the role, he was sued as the clause was not included in his contract.
Despite that, he adamantly stressed that he never second-guessed his decision.
Saying that "Hollywood just completely turned on me," he recalled feeling untethered and said that he "lost everything you could possibly imagine."
"Not just houses and material things. But your swagger, your cool, who you are, your identity, everything. My identity was an actor and a really good one. And once you don't have that identity, you're kind of lost in a tailspin," he admitted, saying that it continued "for a couple of years."
Neal explained that his self-doubt about his role in the industry led to him developing a drinking problem, which he was only able to beat when Ruvé got him to go back to church and rediscover his faith.
"When I stopped drinking and everything just kind of changed. Literally, the clouds parted. I was like, 'Oh. I don't need this crutch. Oh, people are calling me. Oh, I am successful. Oh, I do like myself again. Ok, I am God's child, and I have a job to do. Stop wallowing in self-pity. Dust yourself off and go hit it hard,'" he explained.
Regarding his rule, he noted that his wife was "really hot."
"That's the other thing. You know, she's a good-looking woman, and everything else pales compared to my wife Ruvé. But in all seriousness, it was just something I was never comfortable doing."
The rule almost led to him giving up his role in The Last Rodeo, which he wrote and produced as well as starred in, because there were two flashbacks that entailed kissing the character's deceased wife.
What changed his mind was convincing Ruvé to play the role.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
"She was so great in the movie, and to kiss my wife, my real-life wife, in a movie that I wrote and produced and gave glory to Him in," he reflected, saying, that he couldn't picture "anything really better than that in my life when it comes to my career because it's finally one of those things where I made it, and I did it our way."
He continued, saying, "We did it. We made a beautiful film that's made money, that everyone's loving, that the reviews are crazy for. I've never been part of a film that has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating from the audience. Never. You know, so we knew we did something right."
The actor also shared a lesson that he learned from the experience, saying, "I think sometimes you need to be crucified in life to realize what life is really about. It's about God. It's about what you can do to make the world a better place while you're here for that finite amount of time."
Neal and Ruvé exchanged vows in December 2003, and they share five children.
"Almost 20 years of marriage, & 23 years together. The best decision I ever made in my life asking Ruvé to be my life partner and soulmate," he gushed about his life partner in a 2023 post on Instagram celebrating their monumental anniversary.
Read the original article on People